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WunderGlo Foundation donates to GI Oncology
Baxter Foundation visit The Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation has given USC more than $10 million and recently gave the Keck School of Medicine of USC $300,000 for junior faculty research and medical student scholarships. The latest gift will be split between Emil Kartalov, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology; Andy Chang, M.D., assistant professor of urology; and the Baxter Summer Research Program, which allows medical students to perform scientific research during the summer of their first year. Back row, from left: George Tolomiczenko, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., Richard H. Haake, Donald B. Haake and James (Jim) Russell. Front row, from left: Elizabeth M. Fini, Ph.D., Jane Haake-Russell and William Haake.
Donation helps fund testicular cancer research By Amy E. Hamaker
When John Willis discovered that his 25-year-old son Johnny had testicular cancer, he was understandably devastated. “When something like this happens, it’s enormous, and it’s difficult to try to process it all,” he said. Johnny knew he had a problem, but at first a local doctor and urologist did not recognize the condition. It was the young man’s determination that led the family to Sia Daneshmand, M.D., associate professor of urology (clinical scholar) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “I’m incredibly proud of Johnny and very thankful we met Dr. Danshemand,” recalled the elder Willis. “As we went through this process, it quickly became very apparent that Dr. Daneshmand is dedicated to what he does. He’s so passionate and caring and really helped Johnny believe he would get through this. We thought, ‘What can we do to help in return?’” That question led Willis, co-founder of tech company Interloc Solutions with Mike Watson, to make a donation of $10,000 to help Daneshmand and his team at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center fully develop a comprehensive database of clinical and tissue sample data from testicular cancer patients.
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Along with his team, Daneshmand, who is also director of urologic oncology at the USC Institute of Urology and a renowned testicular cancer expert, has developed a comprehensive institutional review board-approved database that captures clinical data for analysis. USC also houses one of the largest tissue banks for testis tumors led by previous efforts from Sue Martin, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Translational Pathology Core Facility of the Norris cancer center. The tissue bank was funded by the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The challenge now is to merge the two to better understand outcomes. “We work collaboratively with departments of radiology, pathology, molecular epidemiology and medical oncology,” explained Daneshmand. “This helps us better understand modes of presentation, optimal treatment and follow-up regimens, and delineate specific issues related to longterm survivors of testicular cancer, including fertility and hormonal factors. “We have a team dedicated to testis cancer research, and at any one time we have at least half a dozen ongoing projects, and funding from extramural sources is extremely limited,” he continued. “Philanthropy like the Willis/Interloc donation helps us fund research fellows whose help is invaluable in our mission.”
Lenz is professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the Kathryn Balaskrishnan Chair for Cancer Research, and associate director for clinical research at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Lenz accepted the designation as a Cancer Warrior and accepted the donation from Gloria Borges, founder of the WunderGlo Foundation and a patient of Lenz. “What makes the GI Oncology program even more special is its approach to patients – the way these doctors and nurse practitioners treat us when it’s a chemo day or a day we’re learning the results of our latest scan,” Borges said at the event. “There is compassion without pity, professionalism without aloofness, love, friendship, and a steadfast, unyielding desire for us to be well. We are in good hands with them, and we can feel that all the time.” The donation gives the USC GI Oncology program an important resource in its goal of finding a cure for colon cancer, Lenz said. “Every day our patients inspire us with their courage and bravery against this disease,” he said. “Gloria Borges is one of our strongest champions, joining with us in a united front against cancer.” To make a donation, see keck. usc.edu/GiveDrugDiscovery.
Photo by Larry Centeno (left); Photo by Jon Nalick (right)
Memorial bowl-a-thon Agustin Garcia, M.D., left, and Terry Schaefer raised money at a recent bowling event with the help of friends. The event was organized to support the Keley Rose Schaefer Memorial Ovarian Cancer Fund in memory of Terry Schaefer’s 26-year-old daughter, who died from ovarian cancer. To date, the fund has raised more than $15,000 to support Garcia’s work at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center in developing a prescreening test for ovarian cancer. Garcia, associate professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, was one of Keley Rose Schaefer’s doctors.
The USC Gastrointestinal (GI) Oncology program’s quest to find a cure for colon cancer got a boost when the WunderGlo Foundation presented director Heinz-Josef Lenz, M.D., with a gift of $50,000 at its first Cancer Warrior Awards dinner at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.